How Therapy Helps Treat ADHD in Kids

Although ADHD medication can help reduce the symptoms of ADHD, medication isn’t the only treatment option. In fact, ADHD responds quite well to lifestyle modifications and therapy. Our team of expert providers excel at multidisciplinary ADHD treatment programs, which can include medication, coaching, lifestyle modifications, and CBT for kids.

But if you’re considering ADHD treatment for your child, you might wonder how therapy affects ADHD. That’s just the question we tackle in this blog: what is CBT and how does therapy help kids with ADHD.

What Is CBT Therapy?

CBT is short for cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a type of psychological treatment used to treat a variety of mental health disorders including anxiety, PTSD, and ADHD. CBT is based on three principles:

1. That psychological problems are based in faulty thinking
2. That unhelpful thought patterns impact your behaviors
3. That you can learn better thought patterns to change your behaviors

In other words: CBT is a type of goal-oriented psychotherapy that aims to change negative patterns of thinking and change the way a child feels about his/her self, as well as his/her abilities. As an ADHD therapy, your child will learn to identify negative thought patterns and learn to regulate behavior.

Watch the following video to learn more about CBT:

CBT for ADHD in Kids

What types of thought patterns and behaviors can CBT help with? For both adults and children, time management, organization, motivation, and emotional regulation can be trouble spots. Difficulty with time management, emotion regulation, and task initiation can lead to:

• Low self-esteem
• High stress levels
• Feeling defeated
• Negative self-talk

Therapy for kids with ADHD provides the space for your child to work past his or her struggles — and see how ADHD influences those thoughts and behaviors. During each session, your child works with his or her therapist to explore the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors during difficult situations. Your child has the opportunity to explore other ways in which the situation could have been handled.

Your child also builds coping techniques to help avoid repeating the same situation of the future.

Let’s recap! CBT can help children with ADHD by helping your child learn to:

• Manage negative emotions
• Stop negative expectations
• Identify negative behavioral patterns
• Cope with stress
• Handle transitions throughout the day better
• Identify self-defeating behaviors

CBT Helps Children with ADHD in Another Way…

If your child has co-occurring disorders — such as anxiety or depression — CBT can also help your child manage those mental health conditions as well.

Not sure if your child is dealing with ADHD or anxiety — or both? You can learn more about anxiety and ADHD in this blog post. Our team excels at diagnosing and treating co-occurring disorders, so don’t hesitate to reach out to us to schedule a psychological evaluation.

For children with ADHD, psychotherapy enables your whole family to create beneficial strategies that reward positive behaviors. Here at Next Step 4 ADHD, we are a multidisciplinary practice, and our team of experts excels at treating ADHD and anxiety in children. If your child is struggling with ADHD — or any other mental health condition — we can help. Book your appointment here and get started with your next steps today.